


New York isn't a Nice Place

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Peter Parker, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Deaf Peter Parker, Hurt Peter Parker, M/M, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:26:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21740605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Peter Parker gets mugged and his hearing aids get stolen. Tony Stark swoops in and saves the day.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Ned Leeds/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 25
Kudos: 376





	New York isn't a Nice Place

**Author's Note:**

> posted w no beta because i . need to upload something im al ive i p ro msi se

"See you, Ned." Peter waved goodbye as his friend climbed into his mom's car. 

They two had gone to a dinner place with an unbelievable amount of games there. It was super loud so nearing the end of their date, he'd taken out his hearing aids to try to calm down his sensory issues. He was going to walk back to the tower, seeing it wasn't that far, so he wouldn't have to communicate a ride. They were in the more pricier part of New York, so Peter had only gotten a soda. He'd eat with Mr. Stark anyway. Though he was feeling a little lightheaded already, he knew he'd be fine. All he had to do was walk home. Right?

Peter barely made it down two blocks before his sense went off. His heart leaped into his throat, wishing he had more power in him to do anything if something went wrong. Peter's spider-sense went off worse and he turned to see two men, one holding a baseball bat. _Oh, fuck, oh fuck-_

The larger adult was speaking, but he couldn't tell what he was saying. Peter had never mastered lipreading and it was dark, so he could've been saying anything. Looking back up, he knew fear was in his eyes. He steadily raised his fists to 'protect himself'. Stop being a coward, Parker.

Peter then took a fist to the face.

He fell to the ground, blood gushing out of his nose. A foot fell onto his chest, making it hard to breathe. Peter could take him, he knew he could, but he was caught off guard-

Peter tried to say "get off me" but he knew his voice sounded off. _Wrong_ , as some would like to put it. Like he had taken a spoonful of peanut butter in his mouth and tried to speak. It was never quite right. He just shouted, kicking his attacker in the gut. 

Peter sat up but the friend grabbed the front of the hero's shirt, slamming his head back onto the concrete. Peter felt ringing in his head- how ironic. 

Peter stayed down, head lolling on to his side. They were digging through his bag. His phone was in his pocket but his wallet wasn't. It only had his library card and ten dollars in it. But his hearing aids were at the bottom of his bag, so that was more important. He stuck his hand to the lamp to help himself up, but the aching and confusion in his head hurt too bad. His head slumped down and he collapsed under his weight.

* * *

Peter slowly walked to the tower, holding his head. By the time he got there, it was almost ten at night. The elevator took him up to the floor where Steve and Tony sat. "Mr. Stark," The boy whined. "I-I lost my bag." He knew he sounded like a little kid. Tony came over, speaking fast- too fast. His nose had stopped bleeding but his head hurt and he was dizzy. "My hearing aids are gone." He murmured. "I don't feel well." Peter couldn't tell what Tony was saying- god, he hated lipreading- so he closed his eyes, the lights making his headache worse.

Peter slumped forward, his head hurt too much to even stand. An arm stuck out in front of his stomach, two hands on his shoulders. _Steve_ , Peter thought. He tried to stand, but he knew he was swaying.

A wet cloth was pressed against his upper lip and Peter washed the drying blood away, small tears forming in his eyes. When he opened them, the lights were much dimmer. The teenager kept speaking, tripping over his words.

"I know they cost a lot, Mr. Stuh-Stark, I'm sorry. Dinner was loud and I couldn't hear Ned anyway so I put them in my bag and these two guys they took it. I'm s-sorry, I should've stopped them." He walked with the man, Tony lying him on the couch. The boy closed his eyes, tears forming in them. "M-May's gonna kill me. I keep fuh-fucking up, I know I do Mr. Stark-"

Tony put a hand on his leg, making him open his eyes. Tony signed 'it's okay'. Steve was washing the cloth, back to the two.

"I didn't mean to."

'I know. You...' Tony hesitated. 'Hungry?' 

The boy gave up on trying to speak, knowing it was hard enough to understand him. Peter didn't sign every single word, but the message he got across was 'I haven't eaten since lunch.'

Now, Peter's hearing aids weren't perfect, as most aren't, but it was essentially the only lifeline to communicate with most of the team without Clint constantly translating. Without them, it was a struggle of googling words or text-to-speech, which he hated more than anything because he was a slow typer with frequent mistakes. That's why coding wasn't really his strong suit.

Tony, reheated some pizza and Steve was speaking to the engineer, glancing over at the teen often. The boy ate three slices, rubbing his eyes a bit. Tony sat next to him, rubbing Peter's back. 'What happened?'

'Ned went home with his mom so I walked. I didn't eat dinner. My hearing aids were in my bag. Ned was signing to me. They stole my backpack and I think I fainted. I don't know if it was because they kept hitting my head or because I hadn't eaten.' Peter tried to use more simple sentences to help Tony understand, as he wasn't fluent in ASL yet.

'You might have a' Tony paused. He was thinking of the word and pulled out his phone to google it. Tony tapped a finger to his temple and then collided his fist to his open palm. 'Concussion. Cellphone?"

Peter nodded, pulling it out of his bag. It was clunky and old and cracked, but it worked, so he always refused an upgrade. He put it on the table, looking down at his feet. 'I'm sorry, Tony.' He had to fingerspell the man's name, which was the only time he didn't call him something more formal.

'It's okay. I'll buy new hearing aids. You should shower. You have water in your hair.' The teen knew he meant the muddy city water from the rain, so he nodded, steadily rising. He went back into his bedroom and Tony sighed. "FRIDAY, tell me if Peter collapses."

"Collapses?" Steve asked. "What happened?"

"Alright, uh, well, he was at dinner with his, er, boyfriend and it was super loud, as they are, and he had his hearing aids in his bag. He only has one pair, I guess. But he was going to walk from there to here, which is stupid, but he got mugged, I think. And since the food is unbelievably expensive there, he didn't eat and was going to just eat at May's. He collapsed and they took the entire bag. So he has no hearing aids." Tony massaged his growing headache. "At least, that's what I understood."

"Can't he wear Clint's?"

"That's like you wearing my suits. They aren't exactly one-size-fits-all." Tony put Peter's plate in the dishwasher. "I'm not all that sure how to go about getting him new ones. But I'll make sure to get him two nice pairs. A backup." Tony pulled out his phone, hesitating before shooting May a text.

TONY  
Do you have a warranty on Peter's hearing aids?

MAY  
It expired a few months ago.  
Did something happen?

TONY  
I'm handling it.  
The kid got mugged

MAY  
Is he okay?

TONY  
Yep  
What do I do to get him a new nice pair?

  
May didn't respond. Tony ran a hand through his hair. "I'll be right back." He went down the hall to see Peter's door open, the teen on the bed. He was in an old pair of pajama pants and a large sweatshirt, arms wrapped around himself. He had his headphones on- like wireless headphones with the wires around the back of his head but the disks sat on right in front of his ear, more for vibrations than sound. There was a jumble of wires on the back, but they worked. Tony had got them for him a week after finding out he was deaf.

Tony sat on the edge of the bed, making the boy open his eyes. He looked tired. A bruise was forming on his cheek, for sure. 'We should go to hospital.' Peter nodded, knowing the adult was talking about the med bay. Tony kept a hand on his back as they walked, trying to comfort him. 'I told May.' Tony signed. Peter's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. His expression fused to anger, frowning deeply.

'Why?'

'To ask if you had extra.' Tony's signing was so much slower than the teen, who was both angry and experienced. Tony made out about eighty percent of what he was even saying.

'Why would you do that? If I wanted her to know, I would've told her.'

'You didn't have much." Tony knew he was struggling to sign correctly, but this was ridiculous. He needed to take more classes. 'I want to help.'

Peter scoffed at Tony's attempts. A sarcastic smile grew across his lips. 'She's never going to let me go out as Spider-Man now. Thank you, you sure did help out.'

Tony made a face. 'Why would she stop you?'

'Because if I can't defend myself, why would she let me defend the city? Who wants a hero who can't defend himself?' Peter crossed his arms, not making eye contact. He looked pissed. Tony had never seen him mad, especially at the engineer.

Tony paused, taking in what he had said. Did Peter think that? "Kid," Tony sighed, knowing it was fruitless. The doors opened before he could reply and they continued their walk, Tony's face clearly in confusion. They walked across the street to where the public hospital was, but there was a section that was for Avengers only. Peter kept his arms against his chest as if trying to make himself take up less space and appear smaller.

He got Peter to sit in the halls, who was now frustrated and acting like the teenager everyone expected to be. Tony sighed. _He can't be an angel all of the time, I guess._

"How can I help you two?" A nurse asked. Tony spoke for the teen, who did make eye contact, or looked as if he were trying to read her lips.

"He, er, got attacked in the alleyways and I'm afraid he might have a concussion. He had a bloody nose and seemed faint."

She looked down at Peter. "Okay, what are your symptoms?"

Peter frowned. In his slightly-off voice, he snapped. "I have no fucking clue what you just said."

* * *

'You didn't need to be rude.' Tony signed. Peter hadn't been very helpful the entire trip, but they still got the diagnosis that he might have a concussion, but just to keep an eye on him.

'You didn't need to tell May my problems. It's none of her business. You made things worse. You'

Peter signed so quickly it was hard to keep up. He looked pissed, though. When his mentee noticed Tony's confused stare, he stopped and looked even angrier.

The rest of the elevator ride was still. And when the doors open, Peter pushed past the adults and went to his room. The door slammed, making Tony cringe. He had never seen the boy this pissed off. Tony sighed and Steve turned. "What happened?"

"He does have a minor concussion, but I told his aunt what happened and he got mad about it."

"I've never seen him mad before." Steve was drawing in a pad of paper while Bucky slept next to him.

"I just wanted to help him and he got all defensive." Tony frowned. "He started signing so fast it was hard to even understand. I just want to help him, you know?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to be helped, Tony." Steve frowned.

"I'm doing everything I can. I'm going to get him new ones tomorrow and he just... just frustrated."

"Give him time, Tony. He's still a kid. He's not going to be perfect all the time."

Tony sat down on the end of the couch, putting on whatever was on TV. Tony put on this show Peter had begged him to watch, something about police officers, feeling as if there were a better time, it'd be now.

Steve had started to draw one of the main characters- Blake? Jake?- whoever it was, he was doing it well. After the first episode, Tony spoke. "FRI, is the kid asleep?"

"No, boss."

Tony entered the doorway to see Peter throwing up in the bathroom, door wide open. He made his way over, trying to do his best not to scare him. _God, kid you need some sleep._ Tony rubbed his back as the boy stood with Tony's help. He ushered the teenager into bed and gave him a glass of water.

Tony brushed the hair off his forehead, Peter finally looking up at him. He murmured something incoherent, but his expression wasn't angry, so he assumed it wasn't anything bad.

Tony signed 'Get some sleep.' Tony ran a hand through the boy's hair. He clicked off the lights and left, closing the door softly. He made his way to the living room, stress aching his shoulders. Steve looked up upon his entry. "He's got a concussion for sure." Tony let his head fall into his hands as he sat on the couch. "This kid's gonna give me gray hairs."

"By the looks of your balding head, he already does."

* * *

Tony entered the living area to see Peter with his headphones- is that what they're called?- on, making pancakes. Tony sat down and Peter turned once he was done with the large plate. The teen cleared his throat. "For everyone. As an apology." 

'We forgive you. You made these?'

'Yes, sir. Some might be burnt, that's because I don't know how to use your expensive oven.' Peter had a plate for himself that was drenched in syrup. Tony shook his head at it and dug in.

'I'll take you to the doctor later for your concussion.' Knowing the kid, there was a possibility it would've been mostly cleared by now with some food in his system. But better safe than sorry.

Steve entered a few minutes later, Bucky following. "Oh, fuck, pancakes!" The long-haired soldier announced. Peter took off the headphones, cleaning up the baking mess he'd made. Bucky dug in quickly. "You made this from scratch?" He asked with a full mouth. Peter turned around, raising an eyebrow. Bucky repeated the question. And when not getting an answer, Bucky scoffed. "What are you, deaf?"

"Pretty much." Tony shrugged. The billionaire tried to sign. 'You made this from nothing?'

Peter nodded. 'I used Avenger's nights baking things. Is that okay?"

Tony shrugged it off and nodded, while Bucky stared at the two like they had spoken fluent Chinese. The soldier's frown deepened. "Nobody's going to explain that he _is_ deaf? Steve, you knew?"

Steve and Bucky started their minor conversation, while Tony signed. 'How do I get you new hearing aids?'

He scoffed. Peter signed as he spoke. "God, you're a boomer."

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment if you liked it!!  
> i'm hearing, so if i got anything wrong please let me know and i will fix it! its important to me that i got things right in this fic  
> if you want to request things like this check out my tumblr! This was actually an idea of my followers  
> 


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